Wander

Wander is a good article. It is therefore considered to be one of the wiki's best articles. If you see a way this page can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please feel free to contribute.

"When I see someone who's a-needin', I just gotta help!" — Wander[source]

Wander (birth name unknown,[3] previously known as, Tumbleweed) is the eponymous protagonist; an optimistic, nomadic interstellar feller whose sole purpose in life is to be and help others to be happy. In "The Greater Hater", it is revealed that Wander is not his birth name. Wander is a nickname unintentionally given by Sylvia when they first met.

Contents

Personality

Wander has a very friendly, kindhearted, and lovable personality, though others, notably Lord Hater, find his boundless energy and optimism to be very annoying. He is also somewhat flighty and easily distracted, but always well-meaning, with a very strong moral center. Though he can be naïve, Wander is shown to be very witty and clever when he needs to be, and is capable of problem-solving on the spot and outsmarting his adversaries with little effort. Wander likes everyone he meets and always sees the good in people. He used to be the same way he is with Lord Hater with "Major Threat"

Wander aspires to explore different worlds, try new things, and help people have fun and live free, often clashing against the tyrannical aspirations of Lord Hater and his army of Watchdogs' evil reign. Wander likes making people happy and jumps at the chance to help anyone out whenever he can. He and his best friend Sylvia travel leisurely all throughout the galaxy, often getting themselves into exciting and dangerous situations.

Despite Wander's very easygoing nature, there have been times where he has been pushed to his limits. For instance, he had trouble maintaining his self-control when his curiosity was piqued by the unknown contents of a box he was not supposed to open in "The Box." Wander is also completely unable to stop himself from helping out whenever he can, even when the help is not really wanted or needed and often regardless of his own personal safety, suggesting his need to help others is driven by a sense of compulsion. Wander struggles when his assistance isn't needed, and he may take on large amounts of stress if he is unable to help anyone for a while. He also gets very defensive over people he has formed attachments with, as shown in "The Toddler" when he snapped at some shoppers who insulted his and Sylvia's parenting skills, and the reckless behavior of the toddler they were looking after. His empathetic, protective nature can also make him susceptible to manipulation, as shown in "The Stray."

In "The Wanders," the key aspect of Wander's personality is a small frightened child who is completely helpless -- the Zen aspect of his personality states that "The helper seeks to help because he knows what it is to be helpless," indicating that Wander's relentless desire to help others is due to having been alone and helpless himself as a child, thus explaining his boundless altruism and obsessive-compulsive need to befriend and help anyone he comes across whether they be good or evil. Without this helpless aspect, Wander is a daring and heroic individual who will stop at nothing to vanquish evil.

History

A lot of Wander's personal history is unknown as his original name, birthplace, age and species are not revealed. What is known is at one point he was helpless, which made him decide to help everyone and show them happiness. [4] His presence during the last planetary alignment as seen in "The Waste of Time" makes him at least 1000 years old. (Note: Planetary alignments can be galactic not making him 1000 years old at minimum as the former alignment took place in a different galaxy. The creators of the show have not fully confirmed if he is over 1000 years old or not but have refrenced it at points making the claim unconfirmed and speculative.)
Prior to the main story Wander has visited and met a lot of beings. While the exact order is untold it is implied he traveled very extensively. Wander is aware of the Mooplexians true nature when others sees them as unimpressive. He decided that Dr. Screwball Jones is the most dangerous villain and created a superhero persona to stop him. While under a different name, Wander befriended Major Threat and manage to turn him good. Wander stole a magical hat at one point from its previous owners once he realized the hat does not like to be forced into giving items. He befriends the semi sentient hat and wears it in order to protect it. He is claimed by bounty hunter Sylvia, until she befriends him and joins on his travels across the galaxy.

Stamina/Speed

Wander has boundless energy and can move very quickly. One example is during his chase with Lord Hater in "The Picnic" in which he runs so fast, he ends up running over him. In "The Tourist," he's seen racing Trudi without Sylvia and it seems like he's going fast.

Orbble Juice

Wander uses orbble juice to create large bubbles which he and Sylvia use for transportation through outer space and otherwise.

Wander's hat contains a plethora of useful items, though it is known to only give the user merely what they need, as opposed to what they actually want. He sometimes uses it as a sleeping bag.

Near-Immortality

In The Waste of Time, it is implied that Wander is virtually immortal (or his species simply ages slower than most), looking the same 1,000 years ago as he does in the present day. Craig McCracken stated on his Tumblr in a reply that Wander may have faked his aging with a beard to indicate passage of time, and to make Sylvia not feel bad about aging.

Relationships

Main Characters

Sylvia

Wander hugging Sylvia

Wander and Sylvia are inseparable friends and traveling companions, roaming across the universe together. They know each other very well and are accepting of each others strengths and weaknesses, each going out of their way to help the other.

There are, however, a few times Wander has disagreed or had arguments with Sylvia. One instance was in "The Toddler", when he angrily whispered to Sylvia due to the fact she wasn't caring for Huckleberry Knucklehead the right way.

Wander very often relies on Sylvia to protect him from various dangers and threats, and genuinely acknowledges and respects her strength. He often provides Sylvia with a voice of reason, and actively works to keep her calm and happy, fully aware of her brash and rough-and-tumble personality.

Lord Hater

Wander telling Hater about all the fun they'll be having

Wander believes Lord Hater to be his friend (despite Lord Hater's clear dislike of him). In "The Buddies", Wander explains that he is aware of Lord Hater's reputation throughout the galaxy as the "ultimate evil", though Wander states he truly believes that Hater still had good in him, deep down. Lord Hater, however, deeply despises Wander's kind nature. He thinks of Wander as a highly skilled adversary, and has hired various bounty hunters to track him down.

One of few times Wander actually was against Hater.

There have been a few times Wander actually disliked Lord Hater or stood against him. One example is when he crawls away in fear while Lord Hater is ranting. Another is when he is shocked to hear about Westley wanting to take him to Hater instead of have fun. The first time Wander actually faces against Lord Hater is when Hater barges into a diner asking for food, and he angrily announces that he won't get what he wants, only to realize he's taking out his lunch ("The Greatest", "The Little Guy", "The Helper"). Wander gives Lord Hater a present in "The Gift" (a hand-drawn picture of himself and Sylvia, saying "You're welcome. ♥ Wander"), and makes the Watchdogs believe that the gifts they received from him are actually from Lord Hater, making them happy and more efficient at their jobs.

It is revealed in "The Wanders" that the reason Wander wants to befriend Hater is because of an aspect of his personality - a helpless child who wants to help anyone because he hates being helpless. Without it, Wander has a heroic persona in which he actually wants to stop Hater.

Commander Peepers

Peepers and Wander's first encounter.

Wander and Peepers first met in "The Greatest". Wander sees Peepers and says "Look at you and your little hat! You're so cute I can't stand it! Trade!" Peepers wants to capture Wander and make evil spread over the universe because of him (as revealed in "The Bounty"). Wander believes Peepers is not really a bad guy, despite having been captured by him before. He is amiable towards Peepers, calling him "Mister" Peepers, as opposed to "Commander" Peepers, and sees him as cute. Peepers sees Wander, at first, as a "hyperactive, wandering weirdo" not worthy of Hater's attention, but later admits that Wander really is a "sly, cunning, and crafty genius" ("The Prisoner"). In The Sick Day it revealed that every morning, Wander would raise the soles on Peepers' shoes 8 of a inch so he can help him feel taller.

Recurring Characters

Wander tries to become friends with Lord Dominator in the episode, "The Greater Hater." However, he was constantly ignored or tossed aside while she continues her attack on a planet Lord Hater was planning to conquer. Wander took it as if Lord Dominator didn't want to be his friend.

In "The Battle Royale", after discovering Dominator was a girl, he made it his goal to get her and Lord Hater together. He hoped if they fell in love, their love would cancel out all of their evil. It all proved to be wrong in "My Fair Hatey." Seeing his mistake, and realizing she would never love Hater and only wanted to watch the galaxy burn, Wander, Hater, Sylvia, and Peepers decide to save the galaxy from Dominator.

Also, in "The Sick Day", Wander says that he put a small potted cactus in Lord Dominator's guest bathroom, and he wanted Sylvia to water it. However, it turned out Wander only dreamed that he gave her a cactus. This gave him the idea to actually give Dominator a cactus (and name the cactus 'Spike'). He was, of course, delirously sick the entire time, but it implies that he still wants to be her friend.

In "The End of the Galaxy", he remained persistent and once more tried to reason with her, only for her to repeatedly refuse his offer of friendship and hold him captive. When he realized the reason why she is evil due to being lonely, he saved her from her ship from being blown up and offer her a fruit basket of friendship but is angrily declined, but she takes some stuff from the fruit basket because she's "hungry".

So far, Wander's relationship with Awesome is somewhat on-and-off. Wander shows absolutely no interest in Awesome's actions, and makes no attempt to stop him in any of his plans ("The Picnic", "The Party Animal"). Despite the fact that Awesome says he will "get" Wander for partying better than him, he still asks Wander to text him a photo of Lord Hater, and generally seems disinterested in Wander's actions. Wander gives Awesome a present in "The Gift" (a picture of Awesome, saying "To: Emperor Awesome - You're awesome!"). Wander is comfortable enough with Emperor Awesome visit him in The Boy Wander.

Watchdogs

The Watchdogs seem to like Wander, but their unquestionable loyalty to Lord Hater means that they often try to capture him. Their interactions outside of their orders are very friendly, though. Wander first urges the Watchdogs to abandon their mission to attend the fair at Binglebopolopolis, and later has them sing along to a big musical number at Lord Hater's birthday party. They also fell prey to Wander's happiness after receiving gifts from him, though they believed the gifts to be from Lord Hater.

Wander knows all of the Watchdogs' names and birthdays ("The Eye on the Skull Ship"). He also seems to have the ability to recognize each individual, despite the fact that they are almost all completely identical to one another. He knows them well enough to get each of them the perfect gift in "The Gift".

Others

In "The Little Guy", Westley's goal was to capture Wander and Sylvia to Lord Hater, but in the end, he turned good and befriended Wander and Sylvia. Wander later visits Westley to deliver a gift to him ("The Gift").

In "The Hero", Wander is enlisted to be Brad Starlight's "goofy sidekick" during his quest to go save Princess Demurra. Wander tries to help Brad tackle the Labyrinth of Delusion, but Brad insists that he doesn't need his "sidekick's" help. Only after Brad kidnaps Princess Demurra does Wander try to stop him and save Demurra along with Sylvia, King Draykor, and his army but Demurra handles it herself. Wander treats Brad with general kindness, even when Brad teams up with Lord Hater and attempts to destroy him with the Sword of Synergy ("The Enemies"). He also gives Brad a gift in "The Gift", implying that he does not hold a grudge against him.

In "The Tourist", Wander befriends Trudi and is astounded by how many places she states she has been to. It's unknown how they met, but they did meet each other sometime before the events of the episode. When Trudi mentions the "flooshy slooshy sloosh", something Wander hasn't see, Wander insists on visiting it, which delays his vacation with Sylvia on Ziziks. After going there, Wander quickly becomes competitive and is determined to visit every place Trudi goes to. After visiting several planets, Trudi challenges him to a race to Planet Pharphlung, and he abandons Sylvia to do so. However in the middle of the race, Wander witnesses the birth of a star and is left behind by Trudi. He realizes he has has been going about his travels the wrong way, and abandons the race to return to Sylvia to apologize. Trudi and several clones of herself search for Wander, revealing how she was able to visit so many planets in such a short amount of time. Their relationship is unknown as of this point, though it's possible he ended his friendship with her. However, Wander does give her and one of her clones a present in "The Gift", suggesting that he has forgiven her for her actions.

Wander meets Beep Boop on a vacation beach planet when Beep Boop comes crashing down because of Wander's Kite. Beep Boop, or Bot 13, gets damaged from the crash, which causes it's voice to get distorted, so when Wander asks it's name, Bot 13 makes a couple of noises, causing Wander to think it's name is Beep Boop. Wander then takes Beep Boop for a walk on the boardwalk while it's trying to look for Volcanium X. Wander later gets Beep Boop ice cream, where Wander says " it's not just about a list of parts" which from that point on, Beep Boop and Wander are friends. Around the sunset, Wander gives Beep Boop a gift with Volcanium X in it, then Sylvia comes and gets mad at Wander for befriending a Dominator Bot. Beep Boop uses the Volcanium X to repair itself and fly back to Dominator's ship. Dominator asks Bot 13 to show her some planets. It shows Dominator the beach planet, but before it shows Dominator the coordinates, it remembers the time it spent with Wander on that planet, so Bot 13 doesn't show the coordinates, and then says, "I am Beep Boop". Beep Boop deletes the files, causing Dominator to get so mad, that she punches Beep Boop out of the ship, causing it to die.

Wander and Janet first meet in "The Lonely Planet". Wander likes Janet at first, as she pampers him and treats him extremely nicely, but, due to Sylvia's presence, she quickly becomes jealous, and attempts to kill Sylvia, while also trying to keep Wander with her forever. Wander and Sylvia manage to escape Janet, but upon seeing how upset she becomes, Wander insists that they go back. Wander tries to spare Janet's feelings, but then finds that one of the rocks shot out from Janet during her rage gets trapped in her orbit, and becomes a moon named Maurice, allowing Wander and Sylvia to leave. Janet and Wander's relationship is unknown now but it's probably decent. Wander delivers a present to Janet in "The Gift".

Wander and Queen Entozoa seem to have met each other some time before the events of "The Fancy Party". They appear to have a good relationship, but in the end, it is revealed that a dragon ghost was keeping her alive for all those years. After the spirit accidentally possesses a sandwich, it commands its guards to destroy Wander, Sylvia, Hater, and Peepers. Their relationship now is unknown, though it is most likely antagonistic. However, Wander does deliver a present to the sandwich in "The Gift", suggesting that he does not hold a grudge against it.

Wander finds Little Bits in "The Stray" and attempts to help take her to a distant relative or a kooky cat lady. Throughout the episode, Wander falls under her spell and does anything she says, including turning himself over to Lord Hater, but Sylvia manages to punch him out of her spell near the end of the episode. Wander remembers that there was "a little kitty, in the street", but seems to remember nothing else about Little Bits. Their relationship is, as of now, unknown, however, Wander does give her a present in "The Gift", suggesting that he does remember her.

In "The Rider", Wander seems to disapprove of Ryder's forceful and questionable methods, but still treats him with kindness. He accepts that Ryder and Sylvia make a good team, and admits that he may be better off finding a new partner. However, he returns to Sylvia despite this, and renews their friendship. Ryder is dumped on a planetoid after he tries to steal all of Lord Hater's stolen treasures. Their relationship is unsteady, but not overly antagonistic. Wander delivers a present to Ryder in "The Gift", implying that he does not hold a grudge against him.

Dr. Screwball Jones is an individual whom Wander recognizes as an actual villain. They met a long time ago, before Dr. Screwball Jones became a doctor and Wander met Sylvia. Wander is very insistent on stopping him by any means necessary and is able to figure out his plan. Wander does acknowledge that Dr. Screwball Jones has good intentions but knows his actions are wrong.

Under the alias 'Tumbleweed', Wander used to be something of an annoyance to Major Threat until the former villain embraced the path of goodness and became his friend. It was then that Wander left, never to be heard from again in the galaxy where he and Major Threat met.

International Voices

Gallery

Background Information

It is revealed in the episode: "The Legend" that Wander is a Star Nomad (Species). (However this may have been just a joke as the creators made fun of the fanbase in the episode who first coined the term for Wander's species, Star Nomad.)

Creator Craig McCracken's very first sketch of Wander was drawn in 2007. In this sketch, he had more fur on his body, wore a different looking hat, and held a staff.

In the sneak peek clip shown at Comic Con 2012, Wander had four hair strands on his head. In the series, he only has three.

Wander is attracted to small red lasers like a cat, as shown in "The Prisoner".

Wander is ambidextrous, as shown in "The Egg" when he played the banjo with both hands.

Wander's name is based on the verb of the same name, which is a term for exploring, moving, or turning. In addition, the second part of the title, "over yonder", is a saying for "over there", which sets up the meaning of his name.

In "The Fugitives", it's said that Wander doesn't know what a uvula is and refers to it as "the dangly thing in my mouth".

A few earlier episodes hint at this; all the food he packed for "The Picnic", including the sandwiches, had no meat. He also showed disgust for jellyfish pie in "The Hat", which presumably would not be vegetarian. All other food he's eaten have lacked meat, including the giant hoagie he wolfed down in "The Tourist" and the triple pickle cream pie in "The Helper". He is not vegan however, as he does eat sandwiches with mayo ("The Picnic").

In "The Breakfast", Wander does make eggs, but they were growing on a tree.

In "The Greatest", one of the activities that Wander and Lord Hater participate in was a hot dog eating contest. Whether or not these hot dogs were vegetarian is debatable.

In "The Family Reunion", while Sylvia's family chows down on meat, Wander requests to have a salad instead.

In "The It", it is shown that Wander knows how to speak Spanish. As he travels to many worlds, it's possible he may know other languages as well.

In Russia, he is called "Тут-и-Там" (Tut-e-Tam), meaning "here and there".